Welcome to the site brother wellcraft owner, you have no idea how close we came to shutting down but that didn't happen Now I'm not as informative as these guys but one thing I did learn And that is start at the beginning, the first thing I would check is , check the kill switch make sure it's not in the off position,,, Then I would charge the battery's Then prime the bulb make sure it gets hard and fire it up If she don't start try spraying some either in the carbs That should get it going If that does not work Let us know Good luck And remember Check the kill switch also change all the fuel filters and if you have one if you don't get one a water seperator filter

YIKE!!! NO!!!!!!! DO NOT spray ether in the carbs. These are 2 stroke engines.. that means that on the intake cycle that ether is going into the crankcase of the engine, not into the cylinders. One spark and the entire engine blows up. IF YOU MUST resort to ether, unscrew a spark plug, squirt it into the hole then screw the plug back in and try starting it. That way the ether at least is in the cylinder where explosions are supposed to happen and not in the crankcase..

Yep, starting fluid is designed to be used by both spark ignition AND compression ignition engines. A 2 stroke engine compresses the intake charge not once, but twice. Before the intake port opens into the cylinder, the piston going down is compressing the gasses inside the crankcase. And that crankcase pressure could get high enough to cause the starting fluid to ignite, and BOOM goes your block.

Happy Monday everyone! I was able to put some time in to working on the ol' boat over the weekend. I went out and purchased 2 new batteries, and installed them. Had great voltage everywhere, so I decided to try a test fire. After pumping on the primer bulb, it never got 'hard', just kept pumping. I started to notice the smell of gas, so I took the motor cover off, and found one of the carbs leaking fuel out of the overflow (at least I think it's the overflow). In the attached picture, it was leaking from the hole between the 2 bolts, directly above the bowl drain plug. I pulled the carb off, cleaned it up, and put it back on. Instead of 'over pumping' the bulb, I just pumped it a few times, and tried a test fire. The starter sounded a lot better with all the power! She almost turned right over. Cranked the key again, and she fired up! Ran for about 2 seconds, back-fired, and stalled. After that, every time I tried to turn the motor over (2 or 3 more times), right as it wanted to start, it backfired, and shut off. So, could this be a result of the leaking carb? I've already ordered a rebuild kit for it, which should hopefully be here by Friday. But is there anything else I should be looking at in the meantime?

I'd look into your timing first thing. Verify it's where it should be.

Thanks for correcting me about the either All I know about that is I brought my engine to the mechanic and he told me he had to use either to get it started I never asked him where he sprayed it So you guys saved me from ever doing that A big thanks guys

So, if I haven't mentioned it, outboard mechanic work is completely new to me. I have the OEM Service Manual, and was looking up the timing procedure. Everything in there shows the motor running, and being brought up to temperature, operated at a certain RPM, etc. Is there another procedure to check/set the timing when the motor won't run? Is there a different manual that may explain things better to me? Based on reading the OEM Service Manual, it seems to imply a certain level of knowledge to understand...

Thank Spareparts and TheFermanator. They corrected me when I said the same thing several years ago. They get the real credit. :clap:

I seriously doubt timing is your issue. If it was to far retarded it simply wouldn't want to idle and stall out at low rpm's chugging blue smoke. And I've run them at full advance at idle with no problems setting timing. What you're describing is a lean sneeze which most likely means the carbs and jets need cleaned then a link and sync, then set your timing. Also of note, MANY of these old outboards need to be rejetted to run on todays fuels. And you have one of the toughest set of carbs to rebuild and not ruin in front of you with that engine. They are largely plastic, and many carb cleaners can danage them. Make sure whatever you use is plastic safe, be VERY carefull not to overtighten any screws and strip out a screw hole, and be EXTREMELY carefull tightening the 4 bolts that hold the carbs to the butterfly's. More of those carbs are junked by improper tightening of those 2 long bolts than anything else.

Ok...finally had some time to put in to the boat this weekend (been a crazy few weeks at that place that pays the bills). I finished rebuilding the one carb that was leaking, cleaned the others out. Did a Link & Sync (to the best I could figure out). Put a new in-line fuel filter in, as I had no idea when the other one was from. Finally, it was time for another test fire. She continued doing the same it did before (would fire, 'burp'/backfire, then stall out). I decided to try to start with the throttle open a bit - started about 10% throttle, and worked my way up to about 50%, and it fired up! I immediately backed down to neutral after it fired, and it stalled right out. No matter what I did, unless the throttle was opened up a bit, it wouldn't stay running. After 2 tries like this, I decided to call it quits on starting until I could get back here and get some more advice. After getting out of the boat, I noticed a little smoke/steam coming from the exhaust ports. So, I guess I need to replace the water pump (planned on doing this anyway, just haven't been able to figure out how to yet). I also drained the gear oil, and plan on replacing that too. So, my newest questions:
1. How do I get the lower unit off to replace/rebuild the water pump? I found the 6 or 7 bolts at the bottom, but after taking them off, something is still holding it.
2. Any advice on why it would run with the throttle open, but not at idle?
3. What's the best oil to use to refill the gear case, as I doubt the OMC Hi-Vis Gear Oil recommended by the manufacturer is still available!

As always, thanks for any insight/help. It's greatly appreciated! Here's to still hoping I can get my grandpop out on the boat one more time!